Here's the announcement I got from Senator Ferlo's office.Please contact your state senators and ask them to co-sponsor his new legislation, Senate Bill 1100, which amends the infamous pro-fracking Act 13 of 2012.

Senator Ferlo Holds Town Hall, Unveils New Oil & Gas LegislationPittsburgh, October 30, 2013 – Senator Jim Ferlo, in partnership with Protect Our Parks, held a town hall meeting to discuss fracking in Allegheny County Parks on Wednesday evening. The event was held in the auditorium of Highlands Middle School in Natrona Heights with several hundred in attendance. As the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 1100, a statewide moratorium on fracking, Senator Ferlo called the meeting to inform local residents, exchange ideas, and rally public support to protect county parks.
“I have heard countless stories over the years about the reckless and dangerous practice of fracking, and I am extremely concerned that this method is something under consideration within our pristine and valuable public parks. With children, public health, lost recreation areas, and water quality in mind, I oppose drilling in our county parks. I called this open meeting for the sake of public dialogue, and those in attendance did not disappoint,” explained Ferlo.
The middle school auditorium was host to concerned citizens, elected officials, and various community members. Fracking is proposed for two Allegheny County Parks in the 38th Senatorial District: Deer Lakes Park and Harrison Hills Park. Allegheny County Councilwoman Barbara Daly Danko has proposed a “3 year hold on drilling, exploration, of surface or subsurface development relating to natural gas extraction on any property located within the boundary of any County park,” and she was present to discuss her concerns.
“I support Councilwoman Danko’s proposal wholeheartedly, and I believe we should do the same in Allegheny County as we ought to do statewide: impose a temporary moratorium on new fracking and establish an unbiased committee to study the effects of fracking across our Commonwealth which is why I have introduced Senate Bill 1100,” said Ferlo.
The event was hosted by Senator Ferlo in conjunction with Protect Our Parks, a group comprised of ten member organizations that oppose fracking in county parks and has organized a number of local events to protest the proposal.
“The member organizations of Protect our Parks are grateful to have Senator Ferlo’s support for our efforts educating the public on all aspects of shale gas extraction. It is up to us to make sure that our health, safety, and welfare are considered above the interest of the drilling industry. We are finding that the negative impacts from this industry are far greater than any short term gains. We believe it is up to the people to make sure our elected officials are doing their due diligence to protect the people and not the gas industry," said Briget Shields of Protect Our Parks.
In addition to the robust discussion regarding fracking the parks, Senator Ferlo went on to unveil new legislation. Ferlo plans to introduce, in the near future, a bill which would overhaul Act 13 of 2012 that provides for the State’s oversight of the oil and gas industry. The proposal includes a 17-point plan to amend the law which is currently in place. Some of the changes include increasing criminal penalties for violations of the Act, eliminating the impact fee and replacing it with a fair severance tax, and requiring that a driller notifies surrounding property owners and municipal officials of their plans to drill if they are within 5,000 ft of the prospective well site, among several others. The co-sponsorship memorandum is available online with a complete description of the bill.
“While a statewide moratorium is my goal, in the meantime I strive to amend Act 13 because we can make significant changes to the law currently on the books that will benefit thousands of Pennsylvania residents. I hope my Senate colleagues will join me in supporting this legislation,” said Ferlo.
Panelists at the event included Patricia DeMarco of DeMarco & Associates, Lynda Farrell of the Pipeline Safety Coalition, Erika Staaf from PennEnvironment, Dr. Cynthia Walter, Councilwoman Barbara Daly Danko, and former Pittsburgh City Council President Doug Shields.
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State Senator Jim Ferlo is a Democrat representing the 38th Senatorial District comprised of parts of the City of Pittsburgh, Armstrong, and Westmoreland Counties. Senator Ferlo serves constituents in two district offices; one in Lawrenceville and one in Natrona Heights. For more information, visit www.senatorferlo.com

Big Pharma knows the answer is a resounding, "HELL, NO!" All these adds with the cutsey phrases: "ED" for erectile dysfunction; "T Number" for testosterone level, etc.

I'm still waiting for the add that says, "Hey, guy! Can't get it up with a derrick? Are you DIB (Dead in Bed)? Have we got a drug for you!" Of course, no guy wants to cop to that description, so Big Pharma spins it as something every guy wants just to add something to their performance.

I think what the world needs is for every male MIC executive and board member to take testosterone LOWERING drugs - also every male politician elected to national office.

The GOP/ALEC (Koch Brothers) are supporting a woman who's a former banker/small business person and currently ALEC state co-chair, who "doubts the validity of climate science". The Democrats' candidate is an ER physician who was appointed to the state Senate seat last January after then-Democratic state senator Derek Kilmer was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Of particular note is that Democrat Dr. Nathan Schlicher's biggest supporter is a San Francisco billionaire named Tom Steyer who made his fortune in hedge funds but now devotes his time and considerable money to promoting government action against global warming. He started a Political Action Committee called the Next Gen Climate Action Committee which has " pumped money into two high-profile races: the special election that sent Massachusetts Democrat and oil-industry critic Ed Markey to the U.S. Senate in June and the current governor’s race in Virginia.

“I don’t personally know Mr. Steyer and haven’t spoken with him,” Schlicher told KUOW. “I appreciate that he believes I represent somebody who cares about the environment and has chosen to invest in that.”

I find this story doubly inspiring: a physician candidate who could make a very good living independent of politics, versus an ALEC political hack; and a self-made billionaire fighting for the environment, instead of spending his time figuring out how to further benefit the one percent.

Climate Contrast
In a recent candidate forum hosted by League of Women Voters of Kitsap County, Schlicher called for fighting climate change by investing in nonpolluting energy sources. "Regardless of what we individually think, the rest of the world believes that climate change is a reality. The rest of the world will be investing trillions, trillions of dollars in green technology. If we’re not investing in it and building those opportunities here in Washington state, it’s like turning away Microsoft in the 70s. It just doesn’t make any sense."

Jan Angel, by contrast, said she doubts the validity of climate science. " The climate change area, I believe, we’ve got to work through what is it we can do better? What can we do smarter? And I’m fully prepared to have those discussions and act when need be, but there’s a lot of areas right now that can’t be proven scientifically that we've had an issue. We can’t throw money at it, without scientific proof."

Virtually all scientists who study the atmosphere agree that there’s scientific proof that humans have started to change the global climate, and those changes will accelerate unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.